Cauliflower is one of those veggies that have been through a massive ‘glow-up’ over the past few years. Once thought of as a bland, uninspiring veg that tends to be boiled to death, it’s now become a stable for many once you realise how flexible it truly is. My sister makes pizza bases with it, others I know make cauliflower ‘wings’, often for a tasty side I’ll roast it. Seriously it seems we’ve all been missing a trick by boiling it all these years.
These cauliflower bite are a little salty, a little sweet, with a flash of chilli and crunch. What’s more they’re baked rather than fried so they’re much healthier than your typical cauliflower wings you might encounter. A pile of these would make a perfect snack for movie night, or throw them together for a perfect addition to your next meal, pictured here for our meal with the Chilli, peanut green beans from the last post.
Vegan and gluten free with nut free options below.
- Makes: Serves 2-3
Ingredients
- 250 ml plant based milk*
- 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 70g Chickpea Flour
- 65g Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 2 slices of Gluten Free bread
- 30g Oats
- 1 Head of Cauliflower
- 80 ml Maple Syrup
- 80ml Soy Sauce Alternative (see my allergy note below)
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Sriracha
- 60ml Water
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds (I like to do a mix of black & white)
Directions
Start by mixing your milk and vinegar, leave them to stand for a few minutes. The milk will curdle and you’ve just made vegan buttermilk! Add the chickpea flour, cornstarch, and chilli flakes and mix well to make a batter with a consistency similar to double cream.
Put your oats and bread in either a blender or food processor and blend until you get breadcrumbs – your oats will be slightly larger and this is as close to gluten free panko breadcrumbs that I’ve been able to find.
Preheat your oven to 200°C (180ºC fan/400ºF)
Chop your cauliflower in to bite sized pieces, including the stem (which is perfectly edible) – no waste here! Now you can batter and crumb your cauliflower. Fully coat your cauliflower in batter, then toss in the breadcrumbs before placing on a wired rack. I like to always keep one hand clean when doing this so I use chopsticks to lift the cauliflower from the batter and dump into the breadcrumbs, use your other hand to toss in the breadcrumbs and place onto the rack. Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until crisp and golden (some gluten free breads take longer than others to brown so keep a close eye on it towards the end).
While the cauliflower is baking, whisk together the 2 tsp of cornflour and water in a small bowl, until the cornstarch dissolves. Combine soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic, lemon juice and Sriracha in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the mix comes to a boil, reduce heat and add the cornflour mixture. Bring to simmer again and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce has noticeably thickened.
place your browned cauliflower in a large bowl and toss with your sauce and the sesame seeds. Once fully coated return to the baking rack and cook for another 5-10 minutes, the breadcrumbs will have softened, you’re looking for them to crisp up again and brown along the edges. Serve immediately.
Notes
* I like to use almond milk for this as it’s high protein contents makes it ideal for buttermilk but it should work with most other plant based milks too!
Allergy Notes; Soy Sauce is NOT gluten free as the brewing process contains wheat. A good gluten free option is Tamari which normally contains little to no gluten, is slightly less salty, and thicker than soy sauce. As always, check your brand to make sure you’ve not accidentally picked up one of the few brands which uses it. We use coconut aminos in our house, while not quite as rich as soy sauce, it’s both gluten free and soy free but different brand vary tremendously – you may have to look around before finding one that suits you.
If nuts are an allergen for you then skip the sesame seeds entirely it’ll still be tasty!
